The Mighty Miss Malone

I actually said "awww" out loud in disappointment when the story ended. I wanted more! I was so drawn to Miss Deza Malone, I could have listened to her speak all day long. I loved how she told stories and spoke with such love and pride about her family. I loved seeing her interact with the people around her. I loved her love for reading and writing. Mostly, I loved seeing the experiences of the Malone's, an African American family affected by the devastation of the Great Depression, through the [...]

All I know now is, I will never disrespect money again. Period.Have you ever imagined what life would be like if you were gravely poor? To have to suffer worm and bug infested oatmeal because that's the only way you'll ever make your three meals a day, or endure endless, painful bites of stones through your sole less shoes because it's either that or no shoes at all? Have you ever imagined a life of impoverishment? I'm a hypocrite. I know I say I love books that indulge all my faculties, books t [...]

My 5th grade daughter was a few chapters into this book when she told me I "had to read it." The book tackles issues (race, poverty, literacy) in a way that is accessible to young people and provided me with a valuable entry point for discussing these issues with my daughter and her friends. My daughter is an avid reader, and she was struck by one passage in which Deza, also an avid reader, starts to lose her love of reading because she can't relate to any of the characters in the books she is r [...]

What an enjoyable read! This is story of Deza Malone, an intelligent, vivacious, African American 12-year-old girl, trying to survive the Great Depression with her family. I enjoyed it very much and learned a lot too :)

Originally reviewed on The Book Smugglers I am absurdly delighted to be writing this review because books like The Mighty Miss Malone are extremely rare in their awesomeness. I loved it. I LOVED IT. I heart Deza Malone with the fire of a thousand suns.Here is why, in a nutshell:The storytelling is fabulous: it has great moments, sad moments, and happy moments. It is a great story because it is a story about a family at its heart, and about a country, in the great scheme of things. It is a histor [...]

Fact: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a new book from Christopher Paul Curtis is a great good thing.Fact: There is a new book out there. It is by Christopher Paul Curtis.Opinion: It doesn't work.When you hand a kid a Christopher Paul Curtis novel you can rest safe and secure in the knowledge that the book you're handing over is going to have humor leavened with little moments of surprising heart and clarity. You know that the title is going to make an era from the past more real to t [...]

Absolutely amazing! I love the writing to it and everything. I feel really bad for the main character because she has go face many struggles in life and sometimes she can't fix them, but it gets really good and has a great ending to it. I LOVE this book!

"We are a family on a journey to a place called Wonderful."Thus concludes an essay written by the Mighty Miss Malone and Chapter One of this insightful book written about a black family struggling to survive during the Great Depression of the 1930s. We read this book for my girls' book club, made up mostly of 6th and 7th graders. I loved it. Deza Malone is magnetic, her parents are wise, and her brother is endearing. Add to that the delightful, almost poetic prose and the engaging story line and [...]

In Bud, Not Buddy, Bud met a precocious girl at a camp next to a railroad track near Flint, Michigan. That girl was Deza Malone and this is her story.It’s the Great Depression, and times are hard in Gary, Indiana, where the Malone family lives. Mr Malone has a hard time finding work; the few jobs available don’t go to black men like him. He makes the difficult decision to leave for Flint, Michigan, where he’s heard there may be a job. But when the family doesn’t hear from him for weeks, [...]

I loved this one! It has everything in it that I appreciate about children’s literature: style, humor, beauty, depth—even history! I have absolutely no complaints about the story. It does have some incorrect grammar and spellings, but that’s because it’s written from the firsthand perspective of twelve-year-old Deza Malone. I don’t like such inaccuracies in books written for young children (like Junie B. Jones, by Barbara Park), but by fifth grade, the approximate reading level I’d g [...]

Originally reviewed here.Listen close, because when you pick up the audio for Christopher Paul Curtis’s The Mighty Miss Malone, you are on a journey to a place called Wonderful. Set during the Great Depression, and featuring a struggling African American family, The Mighty Miss Malone had so many opportunities to be tragic and heart wrenching, but it didn’t take them. Instead, The Mighty Miss Malone was one of the most warm, welcoming, delightful reads I have had in some time, and I have no [...]

Set during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Curtis has gifted us with a powerful- a mighty -African American family. We see everything through 12 yr old Deza's eyes. It's a touching story about a family who is doing the best they can to stay loyal, loving, and true in spite of difficult circumstances.

"If I ever give one-half a hoot what a lot of other people are saying, you have my permission to slap me silly." -Deza pg 4"Nothing is as obvious as we want to believe it is. There are different shades and interpretations to every story." pg 302

Slated as a possible 2013 Newbery medal winner, this book is well deserving of that honorif indeed it is chosen.A stand alone sequel to Bud, Not Buddy, the character of Deza Malone was first introduced in that book.Life was brutal during the depression, and exceedingly so for poor black families. Work was hard to find and the author accurately portrays the difficulty of finding work if you were white, and almost impossible, if your skin color was black.Poor in finances, but rich in the solidarit [...]

Mixed feelings. There are parts of this that are lovely--not just "shining moments", but threads woven throughout, and excellence in description over all. But I thought the plot didn't live up to the rest of it. Books about people who have good things happen to them because they're somehow "special" often rub me the wrong way, and I want to know what happened with Deza's more ordinary friend Clarice more than I want to read about the two most talented kids in Gary who will go far in life etc. Th [...]

The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis is one of my absolute favorite historical fiction books. I felt as if the book was written for me, and I was Deza. I enjoyed the ups and grieved the downs.Deza Malone, a smart girl growing up in Gary, Indiana, has an easygoing life compared to lives of others during the Great Depression, except the fact that her father doesn’t have a job. But a tragic accident turns Deza’s privileged life around. Her father decides to go on a fishing trip wit [...]

I always think I'm not a historical fiction fan until a writer brings a story to life for me. And then I am.Christopher Paul Curtis does it again. Deza Malone lives in Michigan in the 1930s. Her family is poor but hardworking and funny. Deza's older (but smaller) brother, Jimmie, keeps thingsting. And the father is quite a wonderful storyteller (just like CPC, based on the two times I've heard him speak!). Deza is smart and tries really hard to be the smartest person possible. And Deza's mom is [...]

This book sounds like it takes place when the white hated the black im not sure though. this book is about Deza malone, a very intellagent 12 year old who is an exallent writer. Deza has a brother, Jimmy who is an amazing singer and eventually is found by mr.z and leaves his family. Deza and her family lived in a town called gary but had to move to flint because the father had to find a new job there but, eventually they have to move again. in the end jimmy comes back and everythings pretty norm [...]

I just finished The Mighty Miss Malone, by Christopher Paul Curtis. A terrific book about a young girl and her brother during the Great Depression, trying to help their mom after their dad suffers a tragic incident and disappears. Complex issues of class and race are gracefully and thoughtfully illustrated in this touching and ultimately uplifting story, narrated by the ever so humble (not!) Miss Malone.I was especially interested to note that the father in this story was born in Flint, Michigan [...]

Deza Malone is the kind of character who jumps right into your heart and makes camp there. Yes, this is a wonderful historical fiction book about the devastating effects of the Depression on families in the American Midwest - especially African American families. The casually racist ways that adults speak to Deza spoke volumes about the institutionalized attitudes of the day. More than that, though, this is a book about a whip smart little girl who treasures books, her family, and has boundless [...]

If anyone ever says that Historical fiction is dry and boring, then they haven't read Christopher Paul Curtis and they haven't met Deza Malone. Curtis creates characters that are memorable. Characters that stay with you and keep begging to be your friend. You can't read this book without falling for the Mighty Miss Malone and wanting to get to know her a little better. Her strength and passionate spirit will have you cheering for her at all times.

Juvenile Historical FictionGrades: 3 - 8Ages: 8-13Lexile Measure: 750LDRA Level: 50Themes: adolescent issues, African American, African American history, challenges and overcoming obstacles, family life, Great Depression, homelessness and povertyThis review is specifically of the audiobook edition performed by Bahni Turpin.Right out the gate, I'd like to say that Ms. Turpin should perform all the audiobooks. This was the most exceptional single-narrator performance I've ever had the pleasure of [...]

This book is spectacular and emotional and full of optimism and thoughtfulness. I'm so glad I picked it up. I'm so going to teach this.

The Mighty Miss Malone took me through so many emotions. It is the story about a family trying to survive the Great Depression and the heart-breaking difficult choices that people trapped in the cruel grip of poverty have to make. This book touched on so many issues: race, poverty, homelessness, hunger, love, hope, dreams, and the resiliency of the human spirit. This book made me laugh, it made me angry, it made me cry tears of sadness and tears of joy. I would go so far as to call this book his [...]

What a terrific book! I was not familiar with the author - but anyone who won both the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award should be worthy of reading. This book takes place during the Depression, and really highlights how horrible African Americans had it just trying to find work, places to live, clothes to wear and food to eat.What is truly enjoyable, I believe, is the way the Mighty Miss Malone tells her family's story. It is upbeat and positive, despite how awful things are around [...]

A beautiful story set in the depression era. I loved every one of the main characters in this book, and appreciated the afterword by the author, explaining what he hopes people draw from his book about poverty, learning something new, and reading an entertaining story.

A wonderful historical fiction book! Longer review to come.

It is an amazing book! Really teaches you about how to understand and love what you have!! So touching!

A twelve year-old black female protagonist lets us in to the world of school, friendships, and family during the Great Depression. Part of the story takes place in Flint, Michigan -- a potent reminder that the issues in this story still face many families today. Deza Malone is a voracious reader and aspiring young writer who loves English class! The world would do well to recall that young minds like this come in all sorts of outside packages. And we should be watching out for these promising ki [...]

I wanted to like this book, but I couldn't quite manage it. The characters and events aren't convincing; oh, not the poverty aspect of it (which I know about) or the race aspect. But the author, a 21st century man, tries to squeeze himself into the mind of a 12-14 year old girl in the 1930s, and it simply doesn't work. Perhaps that's why Deza comes off as overly precious. I know all about the fascination of the thesaurus and the dictionary, and the horrible effect it has on adolescent writing. I [...]